Korean sex assault crisis deepens, charges against fest director

SEOUL: The catalogue of sex crime allegations is snowballing into a crisis for the Korean film industry.

Kim Yong-bin, former head of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, was Wednesday indicted on a charge of indecent assault. One day earlier, it emerged that staff of the Korean Academy of Film Arts attempted to bury details of a female- on-female assault that has since resulted in a suspended prison term for director Lee Hyun-joo.

Kim has been accused of sexual assault by two women. One, a former programmer, reported that Kim touched her backside in the festival offices in 2013 and praised how well her jeans fitted her. The other says Kim assaulted her during a workshop meeting a month later.

Kim has denied the allegations, but the police have now charged him. He is free on bail until next week, when the case will be addressed by prosecutors.

Lee, whose lesbian romance Our Love Story won multiple prizes, was found guilty in December 2017 of a sexual assault in 2015.

The Korean Film Council ( KOFIC) now reveals that Lee’s victim complained to a KAFA professor who told her not to make trouble. The Academy head was also made aware of the complaint, chose not to take action.

New KOFIC chairman, Oh Seok- geun this week apologized to the victim and said that the Council will take measures to avoid further incidents.